Education is changing. Learning in the classroom has undergone a tremendous shift in more than just one phase. And, on top of all that, teacher professional development is…remaining largely the same? Okay, it’s not really quite the same as it has always been, but is teacher PD keeping up with the times, especially as it relates to technology? We expect teachers to be willing to use EdTech tools to reach and engage all their students, but how can they do that if they don’t know how to use the tools, themselves?
How to Deliver PD Sessions That Work
Creating professional development that’s equally engaging and relevant has proven to be a challenge in the last few years. There are so many factors to consider when designing these PD sessions, including ease of adoption, effectiveness at reaching all learners, alignment to standards, and correlation with contemporary tools and technology. The goal remains the same, however, and that’s preparing teachers to prepare every student for success—however we're currently defining success. Teachers have always been taught to take the leader role, deciding what to teach, when to teach it, and how to bring in into classrooms. Now, there’s a shift happening, however, as more PD involves helping teachers make leaders out of their students.
Most adults have a natural inkling to want to be in control, especially when it comes to leading children. In professional development situations, they become the students again as they learn from trainers who may have never taught, themselves. Teachers are constantly working to determine what is most important and necessary and focus their attention on mastering that. For that reason, they need to be involved in the PD experiences to enjoy more efficient learning. The best professional development programs are essentially teacher-led. That is to say that while there is a facilitator present, they will simply provide a skeleton while teachers do most of the work. Since we expect our students to learn by doing, teachers should have this same freedom in their learning, right?
To provide teachers with the most beneficial PD experiences, facilitators should be able to do a few things very well. This also goes for both formal training and informal trainings, which administrators or colleagues can deliver, though this may not fulfill any PD credits. Professional development should contain equal parts problem solving using instructional materials, like technology, and that active educator-trainer participation. Professional development leaders should also draw on teachers’ past experiences so they can see exactly where they are improving. As educators go through PD programs, leaders should encourage collaborative learning until the sessions are almost entirely group-based and they should also let teachers decide what they want to focus on instead of trying to cram a whole bunch of stuff into one session.
Professional Development for Maker Education
Like it or not, maker education has become an important part of general education, offering students a lot of opportunities to boost critical skills. Since MakerEd now comprises a larger chunk of learning initiatives, professional development can include more lessons for maker educators. STEM education helps children to understand all that they can do with powerful technology tools and hands-on projects, which means all educators need some opportunities to learn about this as well. Chances are if there is not a makerspace in your school already, there very well might be one soon. The maker-minded learning that happens there will transform creativity and simultaneously boost learning. Teachers just need to know where to start.
The Maker Movement provides students with opportunities to learn in ways that the traditional curriculum usually does not allow. Unfortunately, there is not currently enough student collaboration, problem solving, leadership, and response to failure in all our classrooms. Think about it—maker education can drastically help with all of these. Making is inquiry-driven and, when teachers combine making and research into one learning activity, they understand relevance more easily. So, for educators to get started with constructing a proper maker curriculum, there are a few suggestions they could follow. This starts with recognizing and keeping the mindset that making and problem solving often go hand in hand.
Maker PD does not have to be formal but can still be very beneficial for educators. Like most professional development, teachers can document their Maker PD in a journal so they can reflect on it later. In sessions, they can also spend time getting familiar with the maker education lingo, especially since some of it is new. Another helpful exercise is for educators to try the very hands-on approaches that they will be encouraging students to explore. By tinkering with project ideas and the materials during the professional development, teachers will leave more prepared to properly instruct. They should also take notes throughout the sessions while also reflecting on the most important themes at the end, considering how to bring these experiences into the classroom. Then, it's time to put the new knowledge into action—and be sure to follow up with the facilitators throughout the year with any questions!
EdCamps Offer Educators Enhanced Professional Development
Professional development has, for some time, either taken place inside the school building or at a far-away conference venue, getting teachers out of school for a day or two. A newer kind of PD, however, known as ‘unconferences’ is becoming quite popular for modern-day educators. EdCamps also help educators learn all that they need to know about contemporary education, including everything from the very best teaching tools to use to the best teaching styles. At these EdCamps, conversations are the platform for sharing—not sitting in the audience while a presenter reads off slides. A form of personalized professional development, EdCamps cultivate opportunities for educator voice and choice in how and what they learn.
Teachers prefer PD sessions that they can select themselves, giving them the best chances for preparing students for the future. Many times, they're required to attend PD sessions. Why are they required instead of eager to participate? Because these sessions are generally not enjoyable. They wouldn’t go if they were not required to show up. Required sessions are often not all that relevant to their work and the skills they're trying to develop. Most teacher conferences and workshops feature pre-selected speakers who talk about pre-selected topics that the educators have no control over. EdCamps, however, are designed for teachers. Look at the numbers: camp leaders often must turn teachers away when selecting participants for events if demand is excessive. Teachers love learning just as much as they love teaching, especially when learning is relevant, dynamic and unique.
EdCamps are extremely unique in the sense that they provide educators with the opportunity to learn from fellow educators. The PD is often dynamic, in-depth, and collaborative, which is all but necessary with how education has evolved. EdCamps have a way of pulling in educators from a variety of different cities, states and even countries, all of whom have diverse teaching styles and ideas for improving them. Meshing these view points together tends to be quite eye-opening and the best thing about EdCamps is that many district leaders or individual teachers can lead them. They are relatively informal, but offer a tremendous amount of upside for attendees. EdCamps are a great equalizer in the professional development puzzle, often getting teachers excited about PD rather than dreading hearing from somebody who has never led a classroom.
Characteristics of Great Professional Development
Nobody cherishes vacations more than teachers. With all of that unimaginably hard work they put in from September (or probably August) until June, who can blame them for looking forward to a quiet two months off and away from the classroom? Unfortunately, the summer months are the only time that many teachers have and their district officials require that they attend professional development meetings to improve upon their skill sets and learning whatever new practices are to be implemented in the fall. Some might relish the idea of putting in more work for no pay, but, in reality, most dread summer PD. So, the PD providers must absolutely put on something that teachers will actually benefit from, convincing them without a doubt that they are not wasting their time there.
To create meaningful professional development that educators actually want, there are a few elements you should include. Instruction, first and foremost, should be relevant to each teacher’s context. In other words, PD sessions aren't one size fits all. The professional development must also help teachers plan or improve on the methods they use in their classroom. This isn’t to say that the entirety of the sessions will consist of learning how to create the best possible lesson plans, but it does mean that teachers should have enough time to clearly plan out what they want to achieve. Also, as we touched on earlier, teachers prefer teacher-driven PD rather than spit from the mouth of an uninterested moderator. People with teaching experience make the best professional development leaders and this includes the teachers, themselves—it’s quite all right for teachers to take the lead and run their own sessions.
Since 21st century education involves plenty of real hands-on learning, teacher professional development should, too. That’s another factor that actually gets educators excited about the prospect of spending an off day in the classroom. They also prefer PD that's interactive rather than trying to stay awake through the passive presentations. And, trust us, they know what's relevant and what is not. Professional development that will not be relevant a year from now is a huge waste of time. Educators aren’t interested in fads; they'll want to learn things they can use for years to come and we can't blame them. The last thing that should go into creating PD sessions are insights they have from their experiences. Teachers shouldn’t feel compelled to recite what district leaders want to hear. They all learn more from hearing about actual experiences and working together to create the best possible outcomes.
PD: Can Teachers Afford to Not Continue Learning?
However boring it is, professional development is like when there's updates to the iPhone or specific apps every few weeks. It has to get done in order to keep up with the trends and requirements of contemporary education. Professional learning, however, shouldn’t be an unaffordable luxury that teachers someday will get to if they have the time. One of the biggest things they lack is time, so it's difficult to fit in professional development sessions with regularity. The most common excuses for avoiding the voluntary professional development are not being able to take the time off and not being able to afford the programs.
We certainly understand that it can be stressful for anyone, especially teachers, to take one or two days off from work, fearing falling out of the routine or falling behind. Professional development planning sometimes requires careful preparation and, of course, some extra work on those days before and days after. To avoid adding stress, teachers could prepare for their PD days just like they would if they were taking vacation. It’s important to prioritize what they must finish and what can wait. At professional development events, they'll maybe even learn new ways to prioritize and make time to revamp key skills. Having efficient plans in place might take some time, but it will be worth it to not feel overburdened when returning from a couple of days of in-depth learning.
The other apprehension teachers have is the cost of traveling and registering for professional development events or other conferences. Especially when factoring in that teachers probably don't receive pay for their professional development, it's often tough to afford. Just like when they were kids, teachers can put aside money before sessions, so they have some wiggle room financially. To further alleviate costs, there's online PD opportunities like webinars that are equally effective but won’t break the bank. Once getting past these challenges, they can focus on the positives rather than the struggles of making it happen. PD often leads to fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and new ways of maximizing the school day. While it might sound tedious and get boring, professional development is as important for teachers as it has ever been.
If you'd want to try something new, affordable, and inventive for your professional development, check out our workshops and webinars. And, for the latest EdTech, STEM and 21st century news, follow Eduporium on Twitter and Instagram. Like us on Facebook, too, or sign up for our newsletter for announcements on the best EdTech deals around! Have an idea for the next Eduporium Weekly theme? Comment below or try sending us a message on any of our social media accounts!